Thursday, February 26, 2009

WHAT'S THE FASCINATION WITH THIS THING?

Last night we took a break from PUB TRIVIA to present a night of GUITAR HERO, sponsored by Coors Light. As always, they provided real guitars, retrofitted to work specifically for GUITAR HERO, and they also brought along a couple of lovely young ladies to encourage some fun amongst the patrons.





Now I've mentioned this in the past, but I have to bring it up again. I simply don't get what the big fuss is over GUITAR HERO. I read about it on the Internet, hear countless conversations about it, but I simply don't get what the big deal is. You stand in front of a TV monitor and pretend to play a guitar. And??? Am I missing something here? Someone please explain it to me because I'm totally lost on this one. In any case, the patrons like it so I can't knock it I guess.

In other news of note, my local laundromat is no more. Yes, the laundromat that I frequent went up in flames yesterday in a big way; So big, in fact, that it was considered a 3-alarm fire, which I guess is a pretty big deal.

This was as close as I could get as the police/fire department presence was pretty great.

Overall, it was a pretty decent night, though it died out rather early. Strumming on a fake guitar must really wear folks out I guess.







TONIGHT: We are hosting a special promo sponsored by Planters Peanuts and K-Rock radio as they search for "The Ultimate Sports Nut" amongst our many unique patrons. The fun starts at 7pm. Check it out!



Nuff Said

Thursday, June 26, 2008

ESPN DROPS THE (soccer) BALL!

Yesterday was the first Semi-Final of the EURO '08 Cup, featuring Cup favorite GERMANY and the Cinderella team of the tournament, TURKEY. As I predicted before, the bar was filled with anxious and happy Turkey supporters, ready to cheer their team on. And the National Team did not disappoint the crowd, taking an early lead to stun Germany and their supporters.



Excitement for the Turks was short-lived, however, as the German team came right back to tie up the match shortly after the first goal was scored. The two teams went back and forth in an exciting match until...... the ESPN satellite feed disappeared! The packed bar was bewildered as the TV's showed a blank screen, while at the same time, listening to the confused announcers trying to give everyone the play-by-play without the benefit of a picture. Very surreal.

After a few minutes, the picture came back and by then, Germany had taken the lead. As the match was beginning to wind down, the Turkish fans were showing signs of fear that their magical run would end. Then the improbable happened: We lost our feed again!!!

This time, the Turkish fans were going nuts. A few minutes left until the end of the match and the feed disappears??? WTF? During that blackout, the Turkey team found a way to score to tie up the match. The fans went crazy, only to get disappointed as the TV feed came back, just as Germany re-took the lead with about a minute left to play. It gets better.

As the game resumes with literally stoppage time left to play, the feed disappears YET again, forcing both fans of Germany and Turkey to stare at blank TV's and listen (with hope) to the announcers as they described the last few moments of the match. Germany ultimately won the match, crushing the dreams of the Turks. What could have been a dramatic and exciting finish to witness, turned into a confusing, mish-mosh of nothing. Talk about dropping the ball, ESPN!






Alas, the dream run ended for the Turks. While they were sometimes annoying to deal with, they definitely brought something unique to the bar.

Later on in the evening, we hosted another session of GUITAR HERO. Now I still don't quite get the purpose of this game, however, it seems to be popular, so when in Rome.....







All told, while it was a LONG day, it was a pretty good one.


TONIGHT: "Bucket 'o Lights" (Buckets of Coors Light, Michelob Light and Miller Lite, 5/$15.00) 5pm-10pm!



Nuff Said

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

SO MUCH TO DO.... SO LITTLE TIME...

I spent most of Monday out and about, dealing with personal errands and bar stuff, which kept me away from my computer for most of the day (which is rare). FIRE MARSHALL ED and myself have been in constant dialogue over the past few days, looking at things we could do to improve the Third and Long experience. While some things are obvious (improving the bathrooms, getting "the XLerator", etc.), others will be much more subtle. It's been fun talking about and brain-storming ways to improve the place. Bottom line- we love the bar and want our patrons to love it too, so we're willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. So be on the lookout for changes at the bar in the very near future.

As far as more immediate things taking place at the bar, we are geared up for another session of GUITAR HERO NIGHT, this week at Third and Long. This Wednesday night, Coors Light and Third and Long offers up another fun night of "Rock and Roll Madness"! With $4.00 Coors Lights and $3.00 Mixed Well Drinks (for ladies), the night is sure to be a sure-fire hit!

**Um.... sorry, the girl's not included in the GUITAR HERO NIGHT festivities.... Unless you play so well that it causes a fine damsel to jump out of her clothes!

INTERNS dominated the landscape again on Monday night. I had to turn away a small group of them early on, as one bright member of the group decided that he would be cool by using his brother's ID.... only problem was that he was blue-eyed while his brother's ID clearly stated that his eyes were brown. D'uh!? Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about getting pinched. He tried to give me some lip on his way out, but I didn't pay him too much attention.

*Why do folks get mad at you when THEY don't have their ID's? I didn't tell them to leave it at home..... Cheeky Bastards.


Just a heads up: We hope to get the MLB Baseball Package up and running at the bar as soon as we can- probably within the next day or so. With the "Package", you'll now be able to catch your favorite baseball team on TV, every night of the week. Look for great specials tied-in with the MLB Package soon!


DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS tonight with $1.00 Bud/Bud Light mugs, ALL NIGHT LONG!



Nuff Said

Monday, June 16, 2008

WEEKEND RECAP

This past weekend was a pretty good one for the most part. We've been getting some good play with the EURO '08 tournament (even with the annoyingly pesky Turks), which is brilliant. The tournament has helped to fill a void during the early dog-days of summer and for that, I can't complain. There's been more than a few really good matches to boot, which is an added plus.

FRIDAY found yours truly working an unexpected double-shift, slinging drinks during the day and managing the night shift. The afternoon went really well, with a nice segue from the EURO '08 matches leading into the after-work Happy Hour. For some reason, there were more people around on Friday than normal, and as a result, we had a very busy, yet laid back vibe to the early Friday night session.

From there, the night only got busier and busier, to the point where we had probably our best Friday night of the early summer season thus far. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and continued to do so until we kicked out the last person at 4am. We had no problems at all, which is always great and it gave me hope for the rest of the weekend.

Unfortunately things took a turn for the sour on Saturday afternoon when we were greeted with what was probably the closest thing to a monsoon that I had ever seen. We were pounded by torrential rains for most of the late afternoon and well into the night. When all was said and done, the night was shot as most folks elected to stay in for the night.

Sunday was Father's Day and if you read yesterday's post, you'll know how that day went. Damn Turks.....

TODAY:

EURO '08 (2:45PM)

Austria vs Germany

Poland vs Croatia


TONIGHT:

MUG NIGHT MADNESS

$2.00 Domestic Mugs
$1.00 Bud/Bud Light Mugs


More updates later....


COMING SOON: By popular demand- GUITAR HERO!

Nuff Said

Thursday, May 22, 2008

EDDIE VAN HALEN THEY AIN'T.....

Coors Light and the bar sponsored it's first Guitar Hero night last night and I have to say, it was indeed a strange event.

First off, I'd heard about Guitar Hero from patrons and friends alike and from what I understand, it's an international phenomenon to which I do not understand. So I was interested to see what the big deal was.

The lovely ladies from COORS LIGHT showed up just before 9pm and the first thing they did was hook up the system and showed me the souped-up guitars. They were a thing of beauty and from what I understand, totally different from what is used in the regular game. They were real guitars, reconfigured to work for Guitar Hero, and they seemed to be a hit with the patrons.

The crowd was light to begin with, but soon after the promo began, people began trickling in and next thing you know, everyone was crowding around the back of the bar, waiting to take their shot at the Guitar Hero game. It ended up being a great success, though I gotta admit, the majority of the participants kinda sucked. Hopefully none of them quit their day jobs...







Of course, the night wouldn't be complete without a surprise visit from the infamous BOBBY DEWARS (posed here with THAT DAY BARTENDER GUY). Apparently he just returned from a "sit-down" with the fellow neighborhood "bosses" and stopped by for an after-dinner aperitif.

A real piece of work...."Yeaaaaah!"


The winner of Guitar Hero and the Coors Light Girls

Later in the evening we got our first hit of Fleet Week visitors, a group of seamen from California. The majority of them were first-time visitors of NYC and you could tell immediately that they were in awe of the city. Most of them got pretty drunk (won't reveal pics here- don't want to see anyone get thrown in the brig ) but promised to return again for another night of fun.

By the way, we're still holding strong in the AOL's "Best Sports Bar" vote! If you haven't voted for us yet, click on the link above and show us a little love!

Speaking of sports, just came across another pretty cool blog- this one is geared towards.... you got it: hockey. THE NHL ARENA PROGRAM Give it a look!

TONIGHT:

"Lite Nite Thursdays" (4pm-10pm). All LIGHT beers are $4.00, or you can take advantage of Miller Lite Buckets (5/$15.00)!! Start the holiday weekend out with a BANG!!!


I anticipate a good night tonight! More to come!


Nuff Said